Life and Soul of the Party

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I first read TLASOTP when I was eighteen years old, and over ten years later I decided to dust it off (oh man it was dusty) and read it again because I vaguely remembered it being quite a light read, and after some of the dark non-fiction I’ve been reading lately I wanted to read something less depressing. He was the life and soul of any party and a natural ‘bon-viveur’ — but beneath the bonhomie lay a rare intelligence combined with a unique ability to make art and text work together in the most engaging and elegant of ways. He had an astute understanding of the principles of good design, which he shared gregariously and generously with those who worked with him. He leaves a legacy of beautiful and meaningful books — together with a generation of grateful designers many of whom who learnt their craft from him.” Tributes have been paid to the former art director and “bon-viveur” Ian Craig, who has died aged 78, a long-time friend and collaborator of the late author Judith Kerr. Of course, parties and social events are not for everyone. Shy people can find gatherings difficult. They may be introverted, (=shy and preferring to spend time alone): At school, she was quiet and introverted. They may feel slightly embarrassed or nervous speaking to people they don’t know. An adjective for this is awkward:

To mix is to spend time with people at social events and talk to them: I feel I should be mixing more with my colleagues.They may be rather reserved, not giving opinions or showing their feelings: I found her slightly reserved. Mike Gayle’s character descriptions are vague, some would even say bland. I can understand if this bothers other readers but this doesn’t offend me. I actually like the idea of using my imagination when it comes to the face of a character. As long as I have the basics - eg. gender, age - and there is the (obviously basic) required level of consistency, I’m happy. Unfortunately this vagueness stood out to me a bit more than usual because I didn’t love the story, and more importantly because pretty much all of the characters sounded the same. There’s an argument for TLASOTP being set in a world in which similar characters who are all at a crossroads in life exist. But I think that this is lazy because we do need clearer distinctions between people in books - no matter how similar they are to other characters. I genuinely believe this potential blandness occurred because the author was going for (or attempting to maintain) mass appeal. I also used to live in Manchester — another great city (although technically I lived in Salford which is next door but that’s sort of splitting hairs). Activities such as dancing make some people uncomfortable because they worry about what other people think of them. The word self-conscious describes this feeling: I’m far too self-conscious to dance in front of my colleagues.

A number of adjectives are used for people who are extroverts. They may be described as outgoing, meaning that they are friendly and like being with other people. An adjective with a similar meaning is gregarious: Barram added: “He was so full of life and inspired so many in the publishing world, which will be a smaller one without him. My thoughts are with Kate and his family, and I will miss him immensely.” My first paid writing gig was for a listings magazine in Birmingham — (Actually my first unpaid writing gig was an interview with Kitchens of Distinction for Salford Student Magazine. I can’t begin to tell you how terrible it was.)The 1st 2 books by Gayle were ok. I continued buying the others as they came out and enjoyed a lot how he improved and his books are now a high moment. He just has a way of telling a story, making it so real, so down to earth, his characters so beleivable. The stories are real funny and so poignant at the same time, it's quite hard not to spill some tears along the way. How do your friends behave at social events? Is one of them the life and soul of the party, chatting, laughing and dancing with everyone? Or perhaps you know a party pooper, someone who spoils other people’s enjoyment by refusing to join in and have fun. This week we’re looking at language that relates to spending time with other people socially. The Life and Soul of The Party ain’t bad, and as everyday I read about appalling literacy statistics in the UK, and actually know first hand how little people read, I’d recommend this piece of fiction by Mike Gayle for people who generally aren’t into reading books. And this is simply because it’s not a long book, it’s quite entertaining, and has a soap opera feel - and a lot of people still love soaps here in the UK!